HTC plans cheaper phones for China as Samsung and Apple dominate

Emerging market is key

Smartphones haven't penetrated far yet into China, but HTC is looking to change that in 2013 by offering its cheapest phones yet in the emerging market.

HTC Chief Financial Officer Chang Chia-Lin said in a conference call Monday that the Taiwanese company will soon begin offering smartphones for under $320 (UK£203, AU$306), the current lowest tier of HTC phone available in China.

Chang told investors that HTC will focus more on emerging markets in general in 2013. It started with Myanmar last month, and it looks like China is up next.

Blame Apple and Samsung

Apple's revenue in Greater China in December was up 60 percent year-over-year, to $7.3 billion (UK£4.63 billion, AU$6.99 billion). Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to continue focusing more on the region in the near future.

Samsung, for its part, scored a record profit of $8.3 billion (UK£5.26 billion, AU$7.95 billion) in Q4, an 89 percent increase, Reuters reported.

The Korean company recently invested $58.9 million (UK£37 million, AU$56.4 million) in Wacom, a stylus company.